How To Baby Proof Your Home

Recently I have had to think once again about how to baby proof my home. I thought that this was something that was in the past as my youngest is now 7 but I am looking after a friends baby for a few hours each week and he is a soon to be mobile 5 month old.

So I needed to give some serious thought as to how to baby proof the house.

Baby proofing your home is extremely important but it can be a big headache if you do not know where to start. Many accidents that happen in the home can be prevented with a few safety precautions and simple thinking ahead.

Before you spend anything on baby proofing items start by taking a look at your home to seek out the trouble spots.

What do you need to watch out for? Some examples of baby dangers are chemicals, open toilets, bathtub faucets, sharp edges on tables and other furniture, fireplaces, staircases, electrical outlets, heavy furniture such as bookcases and entertainment centers that could fall on baby, window blind cords, electrical appliances, sharp utensils, doors that lock on the inside, and choking hazards.

Remember that a baby or a toddler does not see the world as you do. As you’re going through your home making a baby-proofing inventory, make sure that you don’t stay on your feet. Don’t forget to get on your hands and knees and get a baby’s eye level view of your home.

This can seem overwhelming at first. But take your time and you will get there! Baby proofing doesn’t have to be done all in one day. Start thinking about it early and you can plan.

A newborn can’t move around and this will give you some time to plan and start baby proofing your home. Certainly before your baby is crawling, you should have your baby proofing completed.

Many parents work hard at baby proofing their home, but overlook the hidden choking hazards that are lurking in the house. An easy test to determine whether or not an object is a choking hazard is to see if it will fit through the hole in a toilet paper roll. If it does it can easily be picked up by small hands and put in the mouth.

Make sure that you don’t make a baby-proofing mistake by overlooking common objects in your home that could spell big danger. Something that you walk past every day can be a real hazard to a small baby or toddler.

Once you have your home assessed as to what dangers and hazards there are you can begin to remove things or add safety items to your home.

We used childproof latches for some of the kitchen cabinets. There are lots of different designs and you have to see which one works with your cabinets. Some have over the handle designs and others are latches which fit inside the cabinet.

A stair gate is usually a must. They come in a variety of sizes and designs. We always found that the most useful ones were those with an internal gate rather than the cheaper ones which were fixed. If you think how many times you are going to have to climb over a gate you will spend that bit extra to get the one which opens easily!